2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: What Bernie said in June of this year about Black Lives Matter. Did the hecklers know? [View all]R B Garr
(16,954 posts)his supposed strong civil rights commitment by taking those BLM protesters who were right in front him as seriously as he takes his canned speeches. After all the brouhaha that he is Mr. Town Hall and the admonishments about other candidates who won't drop everything to town hall with him whenever summoned, he came off looking rather inept.
How hard would it have been for him to at least acknowledge the protesters and made them feel significant by at least telling their story to the camera.
He's had 30 years in politics, and he couldn't figure out a way to embrace them or give them some feeling of empowerment while also taking control of the situation and making himself look good in the process. He could have given them his or his staff's contact numbers and said on camera that he will meet with them. Then he could have parlayed all that into several photo ops (he needs the free press since he said he's not taking money...). Instead, his free press is going to be clips of his irritation and his selfish focus on his applause talking points. Maybe we're seeing why he's hid out in Vermont for 30 years in one of the lowest population states where he doesn't have to deal with much diversity on an everyday basis.
I have to shake my head at the insinuations here that Bernie was victimized by the protestors like it's everyone's job to make Bernie look good. It's HIS job to make himself look good, and this could be a glimpse into his capabilities and true nature. He doesn't want to be bothered unless it suits him. Now juxtapose that with another defining moment for a campaign: the Clinton/Bush debate when Bush looked at his watch like he was bored, but Clinton rose to acknowledge the questioner and say "I feel your pain."